Mental Wellness Initiative

The Mental Wellness Initiative has evolved into a network organisation whose main goal is to position mental wellness as a priority component of the social development agenda in South Africa. This vision was adopted after realising that the impact of the pandemic simply exposed a pre-existing collective trauma our nation suffers, which is carried from the apartheid legacy and we cannot address the trauma without acknowledging our historical past. This cumulative effect, for a long time, has been left unaddressed, and has been undermining the fabric of our society. If this trend continues, it will create long term damage on the collective psyche of our nation.

We aim to destigmatise, demystify and prioritise mental health and wellness by (1) providing spaces, places and various healing therapies thus enabling desperately needed psychosocial support for survivor-activists and/or survivor-practitioners in the GBVF response sector. (2) Training in zero-cost therapeutic modalities for CBO based community trauma responders thus enabling them to provide services in psychosocial support to GBVF survivors in under-serviced and under-resourced communities.